The present invention relates generally to wheel trim retention systems and more particularly to such systems which include a plurality of retention clips secured to the periphery of a wheel trim and operative to retain it in position on a vehicle wheel.
Design of wheel trim retention systems requires consideration and balancing of a rather wide and often complex variety of factors and objectives. Of utmost concern is to provide a retention system which will securely retain the trim member on the vehicle wheel throughout the great variety of vibrations, shocks, temperature extremes and the like which the vehicle wheels are commonly subjected to. Also, because the wheel trim and retention means repesents upsprung weight, it is desirable to design such systems to be as light as possible. This weight factor is becoming increasingly important as the automobile manufacturers search for new ways to reduce vehicle weight in order to improve mileage performance. Further, it is necessary to design retention systems which enable the trim member to be easily and repeatedly removed and reinstalled on the wheel by the vehicle owner. It is also important to maintain the cost and complexity of such retention systems to a minimum while still providing a strong lightweight, durable retention system.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a relatively uncomplicated retention system particularly well suited for use with plastic wheel trim and which may be fabricated and assembled at a relatively low cost but yet provides a strong, durable means for retaining the wheel trim on the vehicle wheel. The present retention system comprises a plurality of retention clips each having end portions positioned in generally radially spaced relationship, each of the end portions being received in one of a pair of radially spaced recesses provided on the trim member. One end portion of the clip includes securing means engageable with the sidewall of one of the recesses to retain the clip in assembled relationship to the trim member while the other end portion is movably disposed with the other recess and is engageable with a sidewall portion thereof to increase the retention force exerted on the wheel by the clip in response to relative radial movement of the trim member due to shock forces encountered by the wheel during operation of the vehicle thereby preventing possible loss of the trim member.
Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.